All of you who believe that the murder of Black dahliaAKA Elizabeth Short, not resolved yet, please raise your hand. How many of you know who shot Lincoln? And finally, how many know who killed John Kennedy?

These three unrelated but notorious murders have gained a following from cynics and conspiracy theorists. Okay, two of them have international implications, while the third, The Black Dahlia, is better known in the US because it’s about sensationalism at its finest. Many mystery books have been written on the subject.

Folklore has propelled The Black Dahlia to the status of Jack the Ripper and Lizzie Borden. But here are some interesting notes on the murder. Since he has not been tried in court, we cannot convict him now and will most likely never prosecute him. And now that he’s dead, he may still be more than a legend, but part of history. Here are some interesting facts:

1. The victim had blue eyes and brown hair and was from Massachusetts, not California.
2. Elizabeth Short was not only murdered, but dissected and mutilated when someone with detailed knowledge of anatomy cut her mouth on both sides.
3. The body was discovered in a vacant lot by a woman and her daughter.
4. She was not killed at the scene; his body was placed there. Police believe the murder took place at a home on Franklin Ave. in Los Angeles.
5. Reporter Will Fowler and photographer Felix Paegel were the first to arrive before the police!
6. The secretary of Dr. George Hodel, the alleged murderer, was writing a manuscript about him when she died suddenly and the manuscript disappeared.
7. The killer taunted the police with a series of notes written after the murder took place.

The reason the killer was never charged or prosecuted for the crime, despite the fact that the police knew who he was shortly after the crime occurred, had more to do with blackmail and corruption than anything else. The physician in charge of public health in Los Angeles County was Dr. George Hodel. Not only was venereal disease dangerous in the late 40s and early 50s, it was a taboo that few people would talk about. Dr. Hodel treated some members of the police department and the judiciary who contracted venereal diseases. They feared that he would make their names public if he was charged.

Shortly after the murders, and there was more than one, Dr. Hodel was involved in a sensational incest trial involving his 14-year-old daughter. He was acquitted of the charges on Christmas Eve and left for the country where he stayed for many years.

Their daughter gave birth to a baby girl who was immediately placed for adoption to a black toilet attendant in Reno, Nevada. Dr. Hodel maintained remote contact with the new father, maintaining the treatment of his offspring while she struggled in this dual world.